Gratitude

“Aw, come on.” “Do I have to?” “Really?” It usually helps if these comments are accompanied by loud sighing, eye rolling, by throwing your hands in the air. Have I described someone you have seen or heard lately? Teachers, have I described someone that you may have encountered once or twice in your teaching career? Parents, is this someone who may have shown up in your house a few times? Kids, is this something you may have seen an adult do? What am I describing? Complaining! Unfortunately, it is something that we all do. Adults and kids alike.

Every day we find something to complain about and every day we have reasons to be thankful. Let’s pause here. Did you hear what I said? We find reasons to complain. We seek it out. We are looking for them. And we have reasons to be thankful, but we do not necessarily look for them. As we come together to celebrate the achievements of the 2nd quarter, let’s talk about these two ideas, complaining and thankfulness.We are to do everything…”without grumbling or complaining”. The opposite of complaining is thankfulness. What makes complaining and thankfulness so different? Why is complaining so wrong that we are commanded not to do it, at all? The Bible says “do not complain.” It doesn’t say “try” not to or in “most” things don’t complain. No, do everything without complaining.

The reason complaining is wrong is because of how we view ourselves. It starts with the idea that I am a good and deserving person. I place myself at the center of my kingdom and live entitled, thinking I deserve stuff. This attitude blossoms from taking what I feel I want to all of a sudden, it becomes something I need. It also expects the people and situations around me to be focusing their energy on meeting my needs. What do I mean by that?

You see it when a parent says no and the child gives a “humph”. You see it with a daughter pulling on the arm of her dad begging him to go do something. A son arguing with his mom. A student turning around to finish a conversation when the teacher has told them to be silent and then when called out, saying “who me”? A classmate getting angry at someone in their class at recess when a game doesn’t go their way. These children believe what they want is really a need and they expect their parents and teacher and friends to drop everything and take care of it. When those people in my life fail to serve my needs, I find reasons to complain. To be honest, when I am like that, I am not a nice person to be around.

We have been studying the beatitudes this year and one big thing we have been learning is this kingdom is not our kingdom. It is God’s. He created it. He rules it. And He lords over it. Not us. And even more than that, God did not create the universe for you or me. He made it for his own glory.

Thankfully, there’s another way to look at yourself. You realize that you are a sinner. And that apart from God’s grace, you would be nothing. And this amazing God who has created the world shares blessings with each and every one of us every second of every day. And I do not deserve any of it. I am blessed to be here at Annapolis. Blessed to be taught by wonderful teachers. I am blessed to have a loving familiy. Blessed to have the food, clothes, and the home I have. I am blessed with so much. This is the attitude to take.

The big question is, what is your attitude? Do you think you are a good and deserving person who doesn’t get what you deserve? Or, as Paul wrote about himself, O what wretched, awful man that I am? But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).If you want a quick test to see if you have a thankful attitude, here it is. How is your prayer life? Really? Prayer is the way to see how thankful I am? One of the great church catechisms, the Heidelberg Catechism says prayer is necessary for Christians because it is the chief (#1) part of thiankfulness that God requires of us. If prayer is the chief, the number 1 part of thankfulness, then it is a great way to check my heart to see if I am truly thankful or if I have a complaining spirit because I think I deserve things I am not getting.

Today, whether you have been honored for your hard work, or you have work to do this 3rd quarter, let’s live a life of thankfulness and gratitude for the blessings that God has given to us. Our hymn we are going to sing is called Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. To lean on something is to trust in it. If I leaned on this podium, I am trusting it will hold me up. Should I lean on it? Not really because it will fail me. The hymn is reminding us that we can lean on the arms of our everlasting God and not lean on our own understanding, because that would lead to grumbling and complaining.